A CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS SURVEILLANCE AND ARMED AERIAL VEHICLES (MANNED AND UNMANNED).
Abstract:
This study is a conceptual analysis of drones in the aerial surveillance and armed aerial vehicle role. Generic manned and unmanned aerial subsystems are compared against a generalized mission to address the question what happens if we have drones and why we have drones, on a first level basis. Further discussion includes resource requirements and certain more abstract considerations such as the value of manned space probes and how the emphasis on manned spacecraft vs a corresponding emphasis for unmanned areial vehicles can be reconciled. The major findings of the authors are threefold. Drones presently offer no capability which could not conceivably be achieved with a manned system, but certain missions may be better accomplished by unmanned systems. The question then, is a matter of degree rather than additional capability. Secondly, under certain conditions and for specific types of missions drones may represent a more cost effective choice in the current time frame and these cases should become more pronounced as the state-of-the-art progresses. Finally, the most significant advantage of having drones is that along with manned aircraft they represent a system offering considerable flexibility of choice to the field commander. Author